Main menu

A Saudi man weighing 1,345 pounds who has been unable to leave his bedroom for the past two-and-a-half years was airlifted to a hospital in Riyadh Monday. It took a forklift and the partial demolition of Khalid Mohsin Shaeri’s home in order to get him to the hospital.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah had asked that Shaeri be taken to the hospital six months ago, but the move was delayed until a special bed could be made for him in the United States. Shaeri, 20, was living on the second floor of his house.

"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time," said Naser Makke, the patient's cousin. "The King — may God protect him and give him the long life — had given his instructions to the ministry of health to do all the arrangements to transfer the patient for treatment in a safe way."

Shaeri reportedly also has a brother and sister who are overweight but able to walk, according to CBS News.

The Saudi Health Ministry dealt with two siblings who weighed 661 pounds and 771 pounds earlier this year.